


All In

by AniPendragon



Category: Bakugan Battle Brawlers
Genre: Five Times Plus One, Humour, Lots of Accidental Proposals, M/M, Romance, accidental proposal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-08
Updated: 2016-03-06
Packaged: 2018-05-12 14:58:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 3,911
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5670106
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AniPendragon/pseuds/AniPendragon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ever since he was a kid, Dan hasn't had a brain to mouth filter, which makes for some very interesting conversations. Or, five times Dan accidentally proposed to Shun, and the one time he actually meant it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Little League World Series

**Author's Note:**

> Told y'all Incinerate wasn't the end! The lyrics included in this are from "All In" by Lifehouse, my chosen theme song for Dan/Shun. Give it a listen. This is another 5 times plus one fic with six chapters. Each one will be uploaded on Fridays.
> 
> Leave a comment if you like it!

_“There's no taking back what we've got's too strong.  
We've had each other's back for too long, there's no breaking up this time.”  
_

The cheers went up around the stadium as the final member of the Otters crossed home plate. The score was 9-8, in the Otters' favour, and the game was over. And that was that, the Otters of Wardington had taken the Little League World Championships.

The Otters collapsed into each other on the field, screaming, cheering, and throwing their arms around each other. In the centre was Dan, their pitcher, and Shun, the last boy across home plate. Between the two of them, the team had won it all.

"Dude! You were amazing," said Dan, grinning widely at Shun. Shun managed his own version of a grin – a bright, closed mouth smile that dissolved into a breathy laugh and Dan's toothy grin.

As the teams separated out and walked away from each other, Dan threw an arm around Shun's shoulders and whooped again, pumping a fist into the air.

They headed for their moms, who were beaming and cheering just as much as they were, and then it was time to change and head for the ice cream parlour with the team and all their parents. The whole place was going to be packed.

On the car ride over, Dan and his mom were singing various baseball songs, while Shun just laughed quietly at Dan's overenthusiastic seat dancing. Shun's mom kept trying to sing other songs to knock Dan and his mom off their rhythm, which resulted in a loud an exuberant car filled with excited people that couldn't stop singing or laughing.

Then, they arrived at the ice cream parlour with the rest of the team, and Dan and Shun were dashing inside to get the best seat, shouting their orders to their moms as they went.

The rest of the team was already there, some with ice cream, some still waiting.

"There's our MVPs!" shouted Erik, their shortstop.

"Three cheers for Shun and Dan," said Xander, their third baseman. "Without them, we never would'a made it that far!"

The entire team broken into cheers with that, beating on the tables and whooping into the air. They got a few looks from other patrons. Shun ducked his head to hide his blush from all the attention. Dan slung an arm around him and shoved Shun into the seat with him, the two squished close together.

"Shun and me are an awesome team, aren't we?" asked Dan, grinning.

"Shun and I," corrected Shun, absently tracing the patterns in the table.

Dan just laughed and tugged Shun even closer, if that was possible. "We're like, the perfect team. We should be a team forever and ever."

Shun smiled at that, but he kept his head down to hide it.

"I know!" said Dan, grinning broadly. "We should get married!"

Shun raised an eyebrow at him. "We're a bit too young, to get married, don't you think?" he asked.

Dan pouted. He yanked the Green Lantern ring from his cereal box off his left hand and grabbed Shun's left hand. He slipped the ring on Shun's ring finger and grinned.

A course of "oooohs" rose up from the table, along with some juvenile attempts at cat calls. Shun rolled his eyes and shoved his shoulder against Dan's.

"Gonna have to do better than that if you wanna marry me," said Shun. He chanced stealing a piece of brownie from Xander's sundae. The other boy guffawed.

Dan smirked. "Challenge accepted, dude. I'll find you the perfect ring, yet."


	2. The Defeat of Naga

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments welcome!

Loud laughter boomed through Marucho's house as the Bakugan Battle Brawlers celebrated the defeat of Naga and the saving of both Vestroia and Earth, once and for all.

The Bakugan were gone, sadly, but that didn't mean everyone else couldn't celebrate, and the six Brawlers, plus their new friends, were all in the mood to party. Except for Shun, it seemed, but no one except Dan seemed terribly bothered by that.

"Come on, dude," said Dan, tugging at Shun's arm. Shun didn't budge. "You gotta dance! We saved the world – both of 'em. Doesn't that make you want to party?"

Shun gave Dan a flat look over his tea. He didn't twitch no matter how hard Dan tugged on his free arm.

"Give it up, Dan. If he wants to ruin the party, let him," said Runo. "Come dance with me."

Dan glanced back at Runo, then turned and pouted at Shun. "Please?" asked Dan, giving Shun his most pathetic puppy dog eyes.

"No," said Shun.

"I'll get you some lunch!" said Dan.

"No."

Dan grinned as he spoke. "I'll be your best friend!"

Shun just looked at him. Dan pouted again.

"Come on, dude, there's gotta be some way to make you come dance with me. You're an awesome dancer, you just gotta loosen up and actually dance once in a while," said Dan.

Shun sipped his tea. Silent.

"Now you're just doing that on purpose," said Dan.

"Doing what?" said Shun.

Dan just looked at him. It was the same look Shun had given Dan a thousand times. One of exasperation and general frustration. To be quite honest, Shun was impressed that Dan had managed to recreate it so well, all things considered.

"Dan, come dance with us," said Joe.

"Yeah, Shun'll get up eventually," said Chan Lee.

The others all agreed. Dan frowned and looked between Shun and the others.

"Go dance," said Shun, nodding to the others. They had all gone back to eating, dancing, and chatting. Shun and Dan's discussion forgotten in a moment. "I don't feel like it."

Dan dropped down next to Shun on the bench. He leaned against the wall and folded his arms.

"You know, if I was your husband, you'd have to tell me," said Dan.

Shun raised an eyebrow. "How do you figure?"

"I dunno. My mom just always says that to my dad when he's being a butt," replied Dan.

Shun snorted. It wasn't a laugh, not quite, but it was close.

"See," said Dan, grinning at him. "You do care."

"'Course I care," muttered Shun. "I just don't feel like partying."

Dan nodded. "That's fair." And it was, really, Shun knew. And people really should give Dan more credit for his intelligence. The guy was pretty insightful when he wanted to be.

"You still owe me a ring," said Shun, absently.

Dan blinked. "What?"

"If you want to marry me, you still owe me a ring. Remember?"

Dan grinned. "Yeah, I do. And I will find you one, I swear."

Shun smiled and said nothing else. Of that, he thought, he had no doubt.


	3. Gundalian Space Invaders

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay! Comment if you want.

If Shun had to rank the worst days of his life, this would have been third. Right behind the deaths of his mother and grandfather. Which, really, should have said something about how awful war was, but mostly he was focussed on trying not to _die_.

Shun grabbed Hawktor's ball as it fell from the sky and dove out of the way of the Gundalian attackers. He was already calculating how long it would take for Hawktor to recover from that last blast and how fast the Gundalians were moving. From there, it was just a matter of running away from the Gundalians until he had back-up.

Another blast above his head. Shun slammed himself against a rock, took a few deep breaths, and tried not to swear. Perfect. Just perfect.

He tore through the jungle on Neathia he'd been assigned to. Jumped and leaped and skidded over logs, under branches, and through bushes. This was _ridiculous_. How was he supposed to see anything in this ridiculous canopy? And it wasn't like he could go into the trees and leap from there – the Gundalians would see him.

"Shun, you all right?" The voice came over his com link. Shun tried not to roll his eyes. Dove behind a tree as another attack came blasting through the jungle.

"Just perfect, thanks. Being attacked by these guys is a good work out!" he replied.

Dan replied, "Sorry, man, I was just checking in. Trying to be helpful."

Shun leaped over another log, tucked and rolled. Tried not to get hit and just barely succeeded. "If you want to help," said Shun. "Come save me. Hawktor is down and I don't know where I am."

"On it!" said Dan, and the com went dead.

Shun sighed and hid behind a rock. The attacks had stopped and there were no sounds in the jungle. He closed his eyes and attempted to meditate. As his awareness spread, he felt a tingling travel up his spine. They were close, but so long as he was silent, this overhanging rock should keep him safe.

Then the rock exploded, a shard slammed into Shun's shoulder, and he wasn't safe anymore.

Swearing and gripping his shoulder, Shun took off through the jungle again, his right arm hanging uselessly at his side. He dove around trees and tried to keep weaving. He heard the Gundalians laughing behind him. Shun vowed to cut out their tongues when he got the chance – though that might have been the pain talking.

A great blast of fire flew above him and blew back his attackers. Drago and Dan came out of the sky, Dan grinning his typical Heroic Grin. Shun wanted to roll his eyes, but mostly he was just grateful that Dan had shown up at all.

Drago landed and Dan helped Shun onto Drago's back.

"We should get you to a medic," said Dan, as Drago took off again. Shun nodded and leaned heavily against Dan, feeling himself grow dizzy.

"My hero," he muttered.

Dan slung an arm around him and grinned. "Hey," he said. "If you really like me that much, maybe you should take me up on that offer."

"What offer?" asked Shun, trying to remember what earlier question Dan had asked.

"Marriage," quipped Dan.

Shun snorted and shoved at Dan, hissing at the pain in his arm. "Good luck with that."

"I'll get you yet."

"Mm-hm," said Shun. "You can try."

Dan grinned. "I will."

The two flew back to the Neathian palace, teasing each other all the way.


	4. Interspace Showdown

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one takes place between season 3 and 4. Feedback welcome!

"Welcome one and all, to the Bakugan Interspace doubles tournament!" the disembodied voice of the announcer came over Interspace as the screens lit up.

Shun and Dan watched from their spot in the café in the hub. As the reigning champs of Interspace Doubles, they would be facing the winners of the tournament tomorrow.

"Who do you think is gonna win?" asked Dan. He was leaning back in his seat, neck craned back to stare at the current match on the big screen, despite the small one in the café. Shun lifted one foot and planted it on the chair between Dan's legs, dropping it back into place just before it over-balanced and tipped over.

"Thanks," said Dan, grinning. He studied the smaller screen inside the mock café while he sipped his milkshake.

Shun hummed and stirred his tea, idly. "Team Mark is doing well in the standings," said Shun. "As is Team Valkyrie, but I think their match with Team Amazon will knock them out of the tournament."

Dan nodded. "That makes sense. I mean, Valkyrie is wicked, but they don't have the defense to handle the Amazons."

"Agreed," said Shun. He looked over his shoulder at the screen just in time to see Team Delta fall at the hands of Team Mercury. "I thought they'd last longer."

"Nah," said Dan. "Ever since May and Eliza broke up that whole team has been doomed. Those two were a power couple. Without the other, neither one is an A-Level brawler."

Shun nodded. "Reminds me of us."

"Dude, you could kick my butt if I didn't have Drago." Dan grinned at him and fiddled with his goggles.

"I was talking about you, actually," said Shun. He sipped his tea.

Dan guffawed. "Hey!"

Shun laughed, a soft sound that had him smiling around his tea.

"Just for that, you don't get your ring," said Dan, sticking out his tongue at Shun.

Shun raised an eyebrow at him, prompting Dan to pull a simple gold band from his pocket. He held it out to Shun, who took it with a furrowed brow and a wrinkled nose.

"What on…?" Shun shook his head. "You actually bought me a ring." The disbelief in his voice was half masked by the slight grin he wore. A disbelieving grin, but a grin all the same.

"Yup," said Dan. He leaned back in his seat, arms folded behind his head. The chair tipped back on two legs. A flush had worked its way across his cheeks and nose. "I was gonna propose when we won the doubles tournament tomorrow. You know, freak out the fans. Give 'em something to crash the forums over."

Shun shook his head, but the mirth was still evident in his eyes. "Dan."

"I mean it's lame, we've only been dating for two months so I'm not _serious_ ," he continued. He cleared his throat, not looking at Shun.

"Dan."

"What?" asked Dan, blinking owlishly. He looked back at Shun.

Shun held up the ring, smirking. "This is a wedding band, not an engagement ring." A pause. "And it's the wrong size."

" _Seriously?_ " said Dan. He groaned and rubbed his hands across his face. "Dang it."

Shun reached up with one foot and nudged the underside Dan's already unsteady chair. It toppled over backward unceremoniously and dumped him on the ground.

Dan yelped. Shun laughed and flicked the ring back at him.

"Try again, Dan," said Shun, grinning. He hopped up and held out his hand to Dan, who was pocketing the ring.

"We still on for movies tonight?" asked Dan, rubbing his head.

Shun nodded. "Are we actually going to watch the movie, or are we going to make-out in the back again?" he asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"Dude!" said Dan, grabbing Shun's arm. "It's Alien Invaders from Jupiter 4!"

"Making out then," said Shun, drily. Dan let out a protesting scoff and threw an arm around Shun.

"I have gotta show you the joys of cheesy alien movies, dude," said Dan.

"Mm-hm," said Shun, mildly amused. "You can try."

"I will!" said Dan. "Right after I return this ring and find you a new one." Shun shook his head and laughed.


	5. The Defeat of the Mechtogan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We've hit the end of the series, but we've got one more chapter to go.
> 
> Feedback welcome!

Dan Kuso was an enigma. Shun knew this better than anyone else. After all, he'd known the guy since they were in kindergarten. And, more than that, he'd been dating Dan for almost two years now.

Some things about Dan didn't surprise him anymore. Like how Dan's idea of asking out Shun was to drop down next to him after everything had gone down on Gundalia and say "wanna make out?" (he had, but that was hardly the point). Or how Dan had told the others they were dating by planting a kiss on him to say "hello" in front of half the brawlers. Or how Dan had told Interspace about their relationship, and come out at the same time, by dedicating his biggest match in there to Shun and by calling them a power couple.

Or how Dan had been proposing to him, on and off, since they were in Little League together.

Of course, there were some things about Dan that still surprised Shun. Like just how selfless Dan could be, when he wasn't being an idiot (which was often). And how self-sacrificing. Shun had thought _he_ was bad for self-preservation. He had nothing on Dan, some days.

So really, he wasn't surprised when Dan collapsed on the couch next to him, after everything with the Mechtogan and Wiseman went down. Or when Dan had dropped his head onto Shun's shoulder and closed his eyes. Shun just wrapped an arm around Dan's waist and pressed a kiss to his sweaty hair.

"We won," Shun murmured. Dan hummed in response.

"Yeah, we did." But there was no joy or cheekiness in Dan's voice. No celebration. Just exhaustion. Dan turned and buried his face into the crook of Shun's neck, groaning quietly. With a quiet smile, Shun just held him tighter, face pressed into Dan's hair.

"I'm sorry," mumbled Dan. "About everything."

Shun sighed. "It's fine."

"It's not." Dan's breath was hot against his throat. It was… mildly distracting, despite Shun's exhaustion.

"Dan."

"Shun."

Shun sighed again. Softer this time, but a little more exasperated. Sure, he was a little upset with Dan, but they'd made up, in the end. And sure, he was a little hurt that Dan was _still_ trying to play lone ranger when it came to what they did. Especially when they both knew how badly that usually ended up going for Dan – and really, it often led to Shun saving him from near death anyway, so why did Dan still bother?

But he wasn't going to hold it against Dan. They'd talked. They'd argued. They'd screamed until they were hoarse. Then they'd held each other close and were just thankful they'd survived this damn war. And they'd both hoped – privately and together – that this would be the last time they had to save the world from its own destruction.

"Marry me," whispered Dan against Shun's throat.

Shun blinked. "What?"

"Marry me," said Dan. "We've known each other forever. You've never actually said _no_ to any of my proposals." His voice grew faster with every passing word. "And we've been dating for two years. Marry me."

Shun shook his head, but his eyes and smile were fond. "You need sleep."

"Doesn't mean I don't love you," said Dan. Shun felt himself still. He didn't think Dan had ever said those words aloud before. In fact, he was pretty sure _neither_ of them had. He knew the words were true, on both ends, and suspected Dan knew the same. But that didn't mean they'd ever bothered to say them before.

"Love you too," Shun murmured into Dan's hair. He felt Dan smile against his throat. Shun stood, throwing an arm around Dan's waist to haul Dan up with him. Dan whined.

"Come on," said Shun, a soft laugh in his voice. "We need sleep."

Dan nuzzled into him, arms wrapped around Shun as they walked toward the bedrooms in the HQ. "Sleeping with you," he mumbled.

"Obviously," said Shun, with a quiet scoff. And the two walked off to Shun's room. Mostly because it had the better pillows.


	6. Anniversary

The ten year anniversary of the Bakugan Battle Brawlers was the biggest event in Bakugan City since, well, forever. Every Brawler – from Dan and Shun, the founders, to honourary ones, like Gus and Noah – had shown up to be part of the show. From singing and dancing – which Dan was still ridiculously good at – to compilation videos, to brawls, to speeches, the show had had it all.

And at its centre was Julie, who hosted the entire thing with her good cheer and exuberant personality.

When it finally wound down, Dan and Shun were standing on the high stage at the centre of Bakugan City's biggest battle arena alone. Both were holding mics and finishing out with the closing speech.

"It's been an awesome day for the Brawlers," said Dan. "Even though we stopped having to save the world, and we stopped actively brawling, a couple years ago, you guys are still our favourite people."

Shun nodded. "Right. It's the fans that always made this whole thing worth it. The people who realize just how much fun and how important Bakugan brawling is in this world."

Dan grinned. "And before we go, there's one more thing."

"There is?" asked Shun, furrowing his brow. Dan nodded, his face surprisingly vulnerable in its softness.

"There is," he agreed, quietly. Then, to the audience, "You guys have always been hugely supportive of me and Shun – and of our relationship. You were there the day I came out, and you've been cheering us on ever since." Dan grinned, but his eyes were soft. "So I think it's only fair that you witness the next step."

 _Oh my god_ , thought Shun, his eyes growing wide. There was no way. Was there?

Dan turned to face Shun, his eyes soft and his smile fond. "Shun Kazami, you're one of the few people on this planet willing to put up with me no matter what I do. You've saved my life so much I can't even keep count anymore." He laughed, soft and embarrassed. "And you've followed me through time and space, no matter how much of a pain in the butt I was." The audience was silent. They waited with baited breath, and so did Shun.

"So," said Dan. "I've done this, what, five times now?"

"Oh my god," breathed Shun, the mic just barely picking it up. He found himself blinking hard to hide tears.

"And I know the third time's supposed to be the charm," said Dan. He shrugged. "But we were still kids the third time around. This time though…" He bit his lip. Swallowed hard. "This time I think I finally got it right."

"Dan." Shun's voice cracked. He couldn't even _try_ to hide the flurry of emotions working its way across his face for all the world to see. The way his eyes teared up and Dan's heartfelt words.

"I've tried, for months, to figure out how to do this," said Dan. "For months to figure out what to say to you. You know? But I can't put into words just what you mean to me." Dan shook his head, his own eyes damp. "There aren't any. Not in this language or any other I could find." Another soft laugh.

Dan pulled the box out of his back pocket, a slim thing that was easily hidden, and got down on one knee. He opened the box before bringing the mic back to his face. Shun put a hand over his own mouth. Stared at the ring – silver and gold twisted together, with two small gemstones – one red and one green – together at the largest part of the twist.

"So, Shun, will you marry me?" asked Dan.

Shun blinked hard and swallowed. Tried to find his voice. He put the hand over his mouth on the back of his neck and found the necklace chain there. Lifted the mic so he could be heard.

"The first time you asked me that, we were eight years old," said Shun. He unclasped the necklace and pulled it from around his neck. He held it out, revealing the Green Lantern cereal box ring on the silver chain. "I kept that ring."

Dan's eyes went wide.

"The answer was _always_ yes, Dan," said Shun, his voice trembling. He smiled. "I was just waiting for you to mean it."

Dan laughed and got back to his feet, throwing his arms around Shun's neck and kissing him until Shun felt light-headed. Their cheeks were went, their faces hurting from the strength of their grins.

Dan slipped the ring onto Shun's left hand. And it fit. He finally had gotten the ring size right.

The audience went _wild_. Their screams and cheers drowning out anything else Dan and Shun could say to them, but not to each other.

They grinned. Foreheads together. Eyes wet.

"This mean we really will be together forever?" asked Dan.

Shun laughed, sharp and sudden. "Yes," he said. "And even after that."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's that! Shoutout to anyone leaving comments and kudos, ya'll convinced me to finish this story out. As for the wedding? Julie plans it. I am definitely writing it right after I write Keith and Gus' wedding. Heh.
> 
> Cheers! Comment to let me know what you thought. I'll see you all in the next one.


End file.
